Heretofore torque plates of heavy guage steel have been used with floating caliper brakes. These heavy forgings of around 11/4 inch plate steel have added undesirable weight and have required considerable machining before they could be used in the brake. The extra thickness was required to provide the necessary resistance to torsional forces generated during the braking. Provisions also had to be made for the control of brake retarding forces and the distribution of these forces. The torque plate did not have a long register for the slider support bracket and the thickness limited the clearance between the support bracket and the adapter/wheel mounting bolts as well as the radial clearance between the caliper and valve stem. The thickness of the torque plate also made it necessary to provide extra clearance between the torque plate/knuckle mounting bolts and the hub. These problems were encountered with both single and dual caliper brakes.